Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India dedicated to the Nation newly electrified Manigram-Nimtita Section, Road Under Bridge (RUB) near Malda and at Manigram, five Foot Over Bridges at Khagraghat Road, Lalbagh Court Road, Tenya, Dahaparadham & Niyalishpara stations and two Foot Over Bridges at Sujnipara & Basudebpur stations, all under Eastern Railway’s Malda Division through video conferencing today. Shri Goyal also flagged off goods train on newly electrified Manigram-Nimtita Section. Shri Babul Supriyo, Hon’ble Minister of State, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Government of India and other dignitaries were also present during the video conferencing.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Piyush Goyal said that as Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji said, "Our efforts will be directed towards making the state of West Bengal a premier state in trading & business activity in the country". Railways can play an important role in development of West Bengal by expanding passenger connectivity, by expanding connectivity of freight trains, ensuring availability of raw materials & moving the products from West Bengal to all parts of the country. He further added that every single line in West Bengal will be electrified by 2023 thereby reducing pollution, increasing speed and augmenting passengers amenities. In last six years Rs. 19811 cr. have been invested in West Bengal to improve the railway infrastructure. The Minister also added that Indian Railways has achieved the best ever safety record as no passenger lost his life in any rail accident, this major achievement is the result of hardwork of railway employees.

 In order to reduce carbon foot print and to promote green energy, 34 km long Manigram-Nimtita section of Eastern Railway has been electrified at a cost of Rs.52.05 crores. This is a part of High Utility Network, “Sagar Purvodaya Sampark Line” from Howrah to Dibrugarh. This will help switching over freight rake destined for Sagardighi Thermal Power Plant and Sonar Bangla Cement Plant from diesel to electric traction. It will further pave the way for conversion of passenger trains from DEMU to MEMU in the section. This will save diesel fuel and will contribute to overall industrial development of the area.

Road Under Bridge at a cost of Rs.1.8 crore has been constructed near Malda in New Farakka-Malda Town section in lieu of LC gate No. 2A. This will ease the movement of road traffic and also accelerate uninterrupted movement of Rail traffic. Another Road Under Bridge at a cost of Rs.2.63 crores has also been constructed at Manigram in Azimganj-New Farakka section in lieu of LC Gate No. 6 to ensure seamless movement of both rail & road traffic.

For the sake of easy & safe movement of passengers, five Foot Over Bridges have been constructed at a total cost of Rs.9.31 crores at Khagraghat Road, Lalbagh Court Road, Tenya, Dahaparadham and Niyalishpara stations under Bandel-Katwa-Azimganj section. Apart from these, two Foot Over Bridges at a cost of Rs. 3 crores at Sujnipara and Basudebpur stations have been constructed under Azimganj-New Farakka-Malda Town section. These will ensure safe movement of passengers, minimizing the chances of mishap.

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